Jaune held the coffee in his mouth to savor the taste before swallowing it. He set his cup down and looked at Weiss who sat cross-legged in front of him. Cars and people alike passed by around them as the hustle and bustle of city life prepared for a new day. "I see you really put some thought into that disguise." Jaune joked. Weiss was dressed in all black and had the hood of her jacket completely pulled over her head, hiding all of her hair. A pair of aviator shades finished the outfit. A good portion of Mistral citizens, especially those of faunus heritage, despised Atlas political figures and military leaders. The Schnees, no thanks to Weiss's father, were particularly unpopular among the general Mistral population.

"I was in a bit of a rush." Weiss took a sip from her own cup. "I may have overslept a tiny bit." She finally admitted.

"Who, you? Unbelievable." Jaune shook his head in mock disappointment.

A simple shrug was all Weiss could offer. "I suppose it can't be helped, it was a late night." She neglected to tell him the reason why she had been up so late, and he noticed. But neither one of them said anything. Weiss's tone suddenly turned serious. "Jaune. What I'm about to tell you is extremely important. So please listen carefully." Her voice was soft, yet urgent at the same time.

Jaune's demeanor changed too. An understanding nod from him told her he was locked in. "I'm all ears."

Weiss smoothly stood up and motioned for Jaune to follow. She led him to a limo parked in a spot on the side of the street. The inside was wrapped around by a single row of leather seats and a small conference table sat in the middle. The two friends sat across from each other. "The meeting this afternoon. How much do you know?" Weiss asked carefully. She took off her sunglasses and pulled back her hood.

"Just the basics." Jaune took a moment to recall. "Admiral Pratt is meeting with the Council, he has a small fleet with him, and they need some additional protection."

"No," Weiss shook her head. "Not the council. It's with the Prime Minister."

"Really?" Jaune looked up in surprise. "It can't just be a general meeting then right?" Prime Minister Donald Clinton was an accomplished man with a deep political background. Before taking office, he had worked in the council for almost thirty years. He was currently in his second term as Prime Minister and many of Mistral's progressive developments were results of his contributions. Clinton oversaw all major events and situations surrounding the Kingdom so it was usually a big deal if he was involved.

"It's a proposition." Weiss answered. "A plan to unite the two Kingdoms against a common enemy."

"The White Fang?" Jaune guessed.

"Yes." Weiss confirmed. "I can't speak for Mistral, but Atlas has been keeping a close eye on them, and they've been getting more powerful, especially over this last year. High Command is concerned that they'll make another move soon."

That sent chills down Jaune's spine. He had no idea the radical organization was mobilizing again nor had he heard anything to suggest the fact. But he remembered how quick Vacuo had fallen when the White Fang invaded. Obviously, the two remaining kingdoms were in much more favorable situations, but if the White Fang was really about to make another move, then it could only mean that they were extremely confident of their capabilities and resources. And that was dangerous.

"How powerful are we talking here?" He asked.

"Our newest reports indicate their weapons production and manpower have both nearly tripled in growth." Weiss said gravely. "You can imagine how much more access they have to resources with the largest continent in all of Remnant under their control. Not to mention the stolen technology they've managed to obtain.

Jaune felt a tightening knot in his stomach. He had always assumed that with all their growth, Mistral and Atlas had become too strong for the White Fang to pose a threat. He had somehow believed that the White Fang had grown content. But now he realized that it was all ignorant thinking. According to Weiss, someone he'd easily trust with his life, they were still as ambitious as ever. He really hoped the Mistral Government had also been keeping tabs on The Fang.

"We've all seen how fast they can overthrow a Kingdom when it's on its own." Weiss continued. "But if united together, the odds stack significantly more in our favor. The proposal was drafted by Ironwood himself. He's been pushing for it for months now."

"So it's a pact of alliance." Jaune concluded. If this was Ironwood's plan, he could only assume that Goodwitch and Qrow had a hand in it as well. The huntsmen found himself on edge. He wasn't sure if he was ready for a war to break out.

Weiss noticed his state of unease. "They still have a ways to go before they'll be ready for a full scale invasion." She reassured. "But the signs are starting to point towards that direction, so we need to be ready and take precautions."

"Why send Admiral Pratt?" Based on what he had heard before, Jaune was a little skeptical.

Weiss understood perfectly. "Pratt may not be the most likable individual, but so far he's turned out to be one of Ironwood's strongest supporters. He's the supreme commander of the Navy, and he's a member of the Council. That makes him an extremely powerful ally to have. We can trust him to make a strong case."

Jaune nodded. He could now see the reasoning, it made sense. Being in the Council himself, Ironwood was already a very influential person in Atlas politics. Having the backing of a second key figure like Pratt would solidify both public and political support for his plan. Another question came to his mind. "How easy do you think it'll be for our kingdoms to come to an agreement? We both know their relationship is shaky at best."

"It will take some time." Weiss agreed. "But that's not our main concern at the moment."

"It's not?" Jaune found himself being surprised yet again. "Then what is?"

"A secret White Fang hideout was raided two days ago." Weiss explained. "Atlas was able to gain access to several sensitive files that were located inside. We're still not exactly sure how, but they somehow found out about the meeting, and they know exactly what it's for. Central Intelligence thinks there is a high possibility that they will try to disrupt it in some way."

"What? Like launch an attack?" The huntsman was on edge now.

"It's a possibility, but since there's no definite proof, High Command is unwilling to call off the meeting. It would be a loss of face and add even more tension between the Kingdoms. Ironwood was actually against holding the meeting, but majority vote was for it. Pratt is also unwilling to budge. They've doubled security and I have a tactical team on standby right now."

Jaune sat back for a few moments to soak it all in. It was a lot to take. And just to think that the same time yesterday he was enjoying breakfast with his friends without a care in the world. He was starting to feel like the precious peace that had come around after Salem's defeat was about to shatter.

"Jaune, I'm only telling you this so you can be ready if anything ends up happening. After all, it could be nothing." Weiss was calm, but the young knight could tell she was just as concerned as he was.

"Does anyone in Mistral know about this?" He finally asked.

Weiss shook her head. "Like I said, this could end up being nothing at all, so Atlas doesn't feel the need to share. High Command is also confident their forces can put down any incident quickly with minimal casualties."

"And what do you think?" Jaune noticed how Weiss kept referring to Atlas as 'they' rather than 'us' or 'we'.

His friend's expression remained neutral. "It doesn't matter what I think, the decisions have been made already. We're going to have to make the best out of the cards we've been dealt. Can I trust you to keep this between you and me?"

Jaune nodded. "Always. You don't even have to ask, you know that."

Weiss shot him a warm smile. "Of course." Jaune was easily one of her most trustworthy friends and she knew she could count on him for anything. There was just something about the way that he carried himself that instantly brought an air of reassurance and comfort with him wherever he went. Those deep blue eyes were still as mesmerizing as ever and she still felt very close to him, even though it had been such a long time since they'd last seen each other. "I've really missed you Jaune." She blurted out. "You, Nora, Ren, everyone here. I'm sure Yang feels the same way."

Jaune returned a wide smile of his own. "We've all missed you guys too. It's too bad you don't come around very often."

"It'd be different if we had more time. And if things weren't always so complicated. You know that don't you?" Truth be told, Weiss had been afraid that her friends would resent her for losing contact for such long periods of time. She certainly would if she were in their shoes. So it was a relief when everyone was so welcoming the night before. Sometimes she felt like she had better friends than she deserved. That's why she needed to make sure they knew she wasn't intentionally trying to shun them out of her life.

Jaune seemed to sense this. "Don't worry, everyone knows how busy you guys are. Nobody would ever hold that against you." He kept the smile on his face.

"I just don't want you guys to think that you don't matter to me anymore." Weiss confessed. Normally, she hated showing vulnerability. Not showing weakness was something that had been drilled into her by her father since day one. But as the years passed, she found the old walls of her past had slowly begun to break down. She still wasn't the best at expressing herself, but at times when she needed to take a load off her chest, she had become more willing to share with others, especially the people who were most important to her. She felt a firm grip over one of her outstretched hands.

"That would never happen." Jaune's expression was very serious, but also genuine. "After all we've been through, there's no way. I'm almost offended you would even begin to entertain such a thought."

Weiss couldn't contain the sigh of relief that escaped her. She also couldn't help the big smile that etched itself onto her face. Gradually, the smile turned into a giggle and before she knew it, she was laughing, out of both relief and joy. Jaune joined her and the two of them shared the special moment.

"I can't remember the last time I laughed like that." Weiss admitted after she had calmed down. She felt good. Almost like a big weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"And I can't remember ever seeing you laugh period. Like, at all." Jaune teased.

"To think I was the one comforting you last night." Weiss rolled her eyes in an extremely rare show of un-ladylike conduct.

"Funny how things work out isn't it?"

"I suppose." The two friends spent a moment just enjoying each other's presence. Weiss took a glance at the time. "I should probably get going." She declared a little reluctantly.

"Right." Jaune gave a quick nod. "Just one question before you go though." Weiss indicated for him to go on. "Earlier you mentioned you had a 'tactical' team on standby? Are you running spec ops for the military now? Is that why you don't work for you dad anymore?"

There was a slight hesitation as Weiss was caught off guard.

"I don't mean to pry," Jaune apologized. "I was just wondering because of what you said last night. You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable or if it's supposed to be a secret or something."

Weiss chuckled. "No, no, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting you to ask that. It's not the only reason I don't work for him anymore, but it's a factor. It's complicated to explain, but basically one thing just led to another, and now I work under the Special Operations Division with a small team under my command."

"Like Winter." Jaune concluded. He noticed his friend was still avoiding the question like the night before, and decided not to press anymore.

"More or less, yes." Weiss nodded.

Jaune decided it was time for him to take his leave. "Well, I'll be off then. It sounds like it could be a long day."

"Like I said, I only told you all of that so that you would be prepared just in case." Weiss reassured. "I'm honestly not sure how likely it is that they'll actually make a move. It has been quite some time before they've made any significant noise."

"I'll be on alert." Jaune promised. "Will you be there?"

Weiss shook her head. "I'll be overseeing everything from a safehouse, but take this." She handed Jaune an earpiece. "We'll be in touch, good luck Jaune."

Jaune pocketed the earpiece. "I won't need it!" He beamed as he got out of the limo.

Weiss watched as the huntsmen disappeared into a crowd of people on the sidewalk. "We'll all need it." She said softly under her breath. A reminder sounded on her scroll. The briefing was in 30 minutes. Weiss directed the driver to head to the safehouse.


(Music: Youtube - Call of Duty MW2 Spec Ops theme)

Location: Somewhere near Mistral City

Place: Atlas Forward Operations Base

Time: 9:04 am

Weiss walked into the briefing room dressed in all white Atlas military attire. Yang greeted her at the front of the room. The ex-brawler was dressed in a similar fashion. The rest of Weiss's team, Task Force 141, sat behind the multiple rows of desks waiting expectantly. The only thing that was out of place was another older man standing in the front of the room. Weiss almost had to do a double take. "General Shepherd? Sir, I wasn't aware you'd be here."

Lieutenant General Shepherd was one of Atlas's top upcoming Generals. The last couple of years saw him rise through the ranks at an extremely fast pace. A calculating and skilled tactician, Shepherd was known for not being afraid to get his own hands dirty. "Good morning to you Captain." Shepherd acknowledged Weiss. "I was just telling Commander Xiaolong: We've received crucial new intel from High Command earlier this morning. I will be running point on this operation from here on out."

"Y-Yes sir." That was another big surprise for Weiss. If someone like Shepherd was in charge, it could only mean that this was a whole lot more serious than she was initially led to believe. "What does the intel say?"

Shepherd raised his voice so the whole room could hear. "I'm going to make this brief, so listen up. The White Fang have hired two fully armed mercenary fire squads of 8 men each. According to the intel, they're set up in two separate secret White Fang hide outs. Now, the intel has provided us the exact locations of these safe houses. Our new objective is to simultaneously take out both mercenary teams before they can make on move on the meeting this afternoon."

So they're taking action after all. Weiss thought to herself.

Shepherd took out a flash drive. "Everything you'll need to know about the layout of both the safe houses are on this drive. Safehouse A is in the forest and safehouse B is in an abandoned village. I'll leave team assignments for your Captain to decide. Keep in mind that both mercenary squads are utilizing transport airships. The best plan of action will be to destroy those first. This is a straight forward mission. I want it done efficiently. And I want it done silently. No one outside of this room should ever hear about this. Let's take care of it quickly so we can all go home. I don't want to have to spend a single extra second in this damned kingdom. Private Allen?"

"Yes sir?" Called private Allen from the furthest row back.

"You'll be coming with me." Shepherd declared.

"Yes sir!" Allen got up to follow Shepherd.

"Good luck Captain." Shepherd nodded to Weiss as he walked out with Allen.

"Alright you all heard what he said." Weiss took charge. As unexpected as this new information was, it was their job to be able to quickly adapt to the changes. The ex-heiress wasted no time. "Captain Price, I need you to assign teams."

Price nodded. "Right. Roach, Scarecrow, Archer, and Ozone, you're with me. We'll take safehouse A. Soap, you take Ghost, Royce, Meat, Toad, and Chemo and head to safehouse B."

"Copy that." Soap confirmed.

Weiss nodded approvingly. "I'll go with Captain Price. Yang, you go with Soap."

"You bet." Yang smirked. "I'm ready."

"Let's go over the contents of the flash drive." Weiss decided. "We move out in two hours."